2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe - Secret Mission

Japanese Style On American Shores

There you are, driving your box truck into Tokyo at 4 a.m. The fish market opens at 5 a.m. and you're running late. The road is empty, save for the occasional cop car and scattered trucks. Spotting an intense blue and white flicker miles behind, you wipe the sleep out of your eyes to make sure they're not deceiving you. No sooner can you open them than the pressure wave sends the truck rocking back and forth. You glimpse taillights and can see a wide gold figure disappear into a tunnel. You've just been blitzed by the legendary Top Secret Supra.

OK, so the chances are slim that you'll actually find yourself in the above situation. Is it more likely for a twin-turbocharged widebody in Top Secret Gold to pass you while driving up I-95 in Maryland? Actually, yes. Jung Park's '04 Infiniti G35 started out like all G35s in the area do - as a $35,000 way to say: "I just got out of college and have a real job now." But Park's G35 didn't suffer the yuppie fate for long. He was a man on a mission, aiming to win every car show he competed in. He wanted to bring the legend of twin-turbocharged Top Secret cars to the East Coast.

Park wanted a one-step solution for the build, so he handed the keys to James Evans of JE Import Performance in Baltimore (www.jeimportperformance.com). JE Import has built more successful street cars than we can count, and is able to handle every aspect of the build process, so all Park had to do was leave it in Evans' capable hands and pick it up a few months later.

The ambitious project started with GReddy's twin-turbo kit, which includes dual TD05's and the SUS header-type manifolds necessary to mount them. Twin GReddy Type-S external wastegates dictate boost pressure, while a singular Type-RS blow-off valve hisses off the extra air when the throttle plate suddenly closes. When it's not closed, incoming air is chilled by GReddy's three-row, Type 23 front-mount intercooler. Since the turbochargers were inhaling through GReddy stuff, JE Import saw only fit to use a GReddy exhaust to give the engine a good place to throw flames.

The stock intake manifold does a poor job of allowing equal amounts of air into each cylinder and is a restrictive piece to begin with, especially under boost. So it was discarded in favor of a custom modified and fully polished setup from Speed Force Racing in San Diego before being bolted to the engine. A Sikky Thermalnator intake gasket, which is designed to block heat, was sandwiched in between them. The beautiful and incredibly complex solution sits, believe it or not, atop an engine that has never been opened. The stock pieces sit inside, untouched and unmodified.

While it's great news that the stock internals can handle the claimed 450 hp that this G35 twists out, there was no question that the stock fuel system would need to be junked. In its place are RC Injectors and a Sikky Mfg. fuel return system. An HKS Twin Power ignition system ensures all that gas explodes when it's in the cylinders. An oil cooler from GReddy keeps engine temperatures reasonable under the substantially increased load. Finally, a GReddy e-Manage and Profec-B Spec 2 have the job of ensuring that the engine doesn't explode - both were tuned by James Evans himself.

The stuff that sticks Park's G35 to the road is so Japanese that it sounds more like places to visit in Tokyo than parts of suspension you'd fit. The Top Secret coilovers feature modified Aragosta dampers with Swift springs and a Roberuta electronic height adjustment system. To better help the new suspension do its job, an Ikeya Formula front reinforcement bar was installed alongside a GT-Spec four-point mid-chassis reinforcement brace and a Cusco strut-tower bar. Finishing off the job of chassis control are A-arms and anti-roll bars from Cusco.

Park's car will likely never see track duty, but it's arguable that nowadays, big brakes are equally as important on the show circuit. And nothing says big brakes like a six-piston kit from Endless up front and a four-piston Endless kit out back. Like every other moving part in his car, the brakes use Motul fluid. In this case, RBF 600. What if one day Park decides to recreate the Wangan fantasy on the interstate? He'll need the big stoppers to slice off speed in a hurry upon spotting Maryland State Troopers.

The giant brakes are easily visible through the curved spokes of 19-inch Volk GT-C wheels, in none other than gold finish. They are 9.5 inches up front and 10.5 inches in the rear. To do the actual sticking, Park requested a set of Toyo Proxes T1R rubber in 245/35R19 and 275/35R19, respectively. A C's shifter bangs through the stock six-speed manual transmission and gets the rear tires burning with the help of an Ogura twin-plate racing clutch and flywheel.

The interior of Park's car is no exception to the Japanese parts rule. The first thing to raise an eyebrow is the Bride Low Max seats, which give the car a distinct Japanese tuner feel (and are definitely designed to fit the asses of Japanese tuners, not American tuners). Wrapped around the seats are Takata four-point harnesses. Unsurprisingly, the interior has a distinct Top Secret flair, including their own fire extinguisher, shift knob and quick-release steering wheel. Park keeps an eye on his newly boosted Infiniti with the help of gauge goodies like HKS' Camp, an A'PEXi boost gauge, and an air/fuel meter and exhaust gas temperature gauge from PLX. The entire setup is framed in a Cusco rollcage.

People don't paint their cars Top Secret Gold because they like the color. They paint them that color because it makes the cars look like Top Secret cars, of course. To further enhance the Japanese Top Secret look, JE Import installed a sea of original parts imported from Japan. A G-Force widebody kit, carbon-fiber hood and rear diffuser work with a carbon Kevlar vortex generator to make the G35 look like something you'd see at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Little details like Top Secret aero mirrors, hood pins and hood dampers further the look, while a custom GT-style wing completes the package.

Park's G35 looks positively out of place on Maryland's freeways. Then again, that was exactly the point of the exercise. More than just appearing out of place, it has a demeanor unlike that of any G35 we've ever seen, with a completely unique flair that's rarely ever seen on this side of the ocean.